Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment. Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~ Mary Howell Cromer

Saturday, April 30, 2016

A Whirlwind Week in the Neighborhood~

One of our precious dogs posed this week. Silvie Aleit, affectionately known as Silveit, age 3 years, 4 months~

For those who have already read last week's post, you can skip down to update...

For those who have been friends and followed me for the past 4 years, I have had at times some things with my health that just did not ever make sense. For three years I had these very strange events/episodes. It was thought it could be my heart, but heart was good even after having had surgery to place a monitor in my chest wall and a year later having it removed with no further findings. Then they thought it was the kind of seizures that happen without the visual tremors. I was put on anti-seizure medication for right at a month, but no, following an EKG, not seizures. A year ago this past November out of what seemed like no where, I had a pinched cervical nerve which still is at this time and those events/episodes stopped right then...weird yes!

I had wanted to wait until this week ending, but nothing will be any different then as it is now, unless my biopsy results from 2 weeks ago are wrong! I have digested the news as best that I can for now anyway. I am so thankful that I have a loving and supportive family and wonderful group of friends. I am thankful that I also have a strong faith and that I have once the initial tone has been set and I am hit hard with some tears and then a good blow of the nose...I always get a stuffy nose if I do carry on too long and feeling sorry for myself, well it never got me anywhere, so why go there.

The Dermatologist called Thursday early evening and told me what I had not wanted to learn hear, the biopsy that was taken from the rash that was on the backs of my hands for the past 4 weeks is indeed a Systemic Lupus (unspecified at that time) skin rash. Friday I had extensive blood work done and other tests done to determine if any other organs are involved, or this may be where it is. Results will be in mid week. This is a little scary for me, but that is because it is brand new and I am trying to get my head around it. If it is full blown Lupus, then I will not be able to tolerate steroids and so I will have to work with my special team of wonderful doctors to manage it. Good thing going for me, I am way past the 6 decades mark and so this should prove to be a mild to moderate, rather than severe from what a few people have indicated, we just have to wait and see. I am thankful it is not Cancer, and I know that the experts are constantly making new strides with these diseases. I will be optimistic, and I will be OK...I pray that and I claim that~

Update...

It has been another very long, stressful week, but I have kept busy and tried not to dwell on last week's news.

Many of the lab results are in and so far everything, other than my skin biopsy has been negative. That being said, I have to continue to think positively, as this all takes time to know for certain, one way, or the other. Lupus is a hard one to diagnose. The two very important antibody tests had still not come back, as they had to be sent to a lab that specializes in them. I have to be at my Dr's office this Monday at a special time of 7:45. (My Dr is getting ready to be on a vacation journey for the next three weeks and wants to see me before leaving) We are so hoping that by then, the final lab reports will have arrived and prove to be negative as well. If not, more tests will be pending, and that is where I leave this, for the "not knowing" as many have mentioned, that is the most difficult at this time.

Thank you for your ongoing kindness, encouragement and support~

Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow presentation after you have read the narratives~

***Special Note I have not yet figured out how to add Eileen's link for the meme below~

A neighborhood Cooper's Hawk flies over the Red-Shouldered Hawk nest area daily. They are of no consequence to the Red-Shouldered Hawk.

Below after 2 days of storms and winds that hit 60 mph in my little town, the female adult Red-Shouldered Hawk was taking advantage of a dry spell to preen and air dry her soaked feathers~

The hen is on her nest...a very rare selection of that being a transformer pole. For those who may have missed the whole sage of this beautiful pair of hawks, please see the past two older posts~

Below neighbor and friends Bob and Velsie Hewlett are part of the "Hawk Alert" team. I have always said that I have the best neighbors! If there is one young one, that will be difficult enough, once the eggs hatch in about another 14 days. If more than one, it will become paramount to be watchful for any falls~

A first year Red-Shouldered Hawk from another site taken on Sunday morning en route to Bible study~

Swallows!!! I LOVE Swallows and the Barn and Tree Swallows are back from migration and nesting already. What can you not LOVE about these beauties...

Tree Sparrows~

My Clematis are in bloom again~

The storms took down another tree in our yard, close to home, but not hitting this time. Some neighbors were not as fortunate. The images below are already marked for what also transpired...we were blessed!

Hello Mary, I just love your gorgeous dog. I do hope you get your lab results back soon, especially before the doc leaves for his vacation. Awesome shots of the hawks and the swallows. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

I do so hope that things improve on the health front. If only I was closer I too would give you a hug and tell you not to over worry. In the meantime continue to delight your followers with your hawks and swallows. Our Swallows are late this year following cold weather and northerly winds which hold them back.

Maybe I'll see more on our annual trip to Menorca on Monday - some 1200 miles south of here in the warmth of the Med?

I'm sorry it has taken me longer than usual to visit, but, as you know, I have been working 40 hour weeks since January, and have not had internet access during the week. Thus, having just read the news about your health challenge at this time, I want you to know that you are in my heart! Hang in there; the results that have been coming in, thank goodness, are negative, and hopefully, so will the last of them prove to be so, too. I have a friend in England who was diagnosed with lupus two years ago and she is dealing with it very well.

Miss you and am thinking of you, on this cold and dark and rainy Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday in Toronto.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful hawks, birds and lovely photos. I hope you are feeling better and have some good health news. We have similar issues and I also seem to be in an unknown area a lot of the time. Just hand in there and don't worry too much. hugs. Have a great week!

I love and enjoy each visitor to "Red Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond." I truly appreciate those who have become followers to my blog and really am encouraged by the wonderful comments. I also enjoy leaving comments and would like to ask that you please make your blog word verification free! You still have top security settings and you still have control over the comments published. It would make it so much easier, if you would consider doing this. I switched several months ago and am thrilled with the results~

Canticle Of The Sun

~ My Heart Song ~

My desire is to share the very essence of nature through photography which awakens and refreshes me, in that I breathe more deeply, take heart in the stillness it brings, and cherish the fleeting moments in this delicate balance of the rhythmic poetry and whispers of life and always thirst for more. From 9 years of age, I have enjoyed wildlife and nature. That is when my awareness of it's beauty and mystery began to form.

Back in the late 1970's my husband and I became interested in Raptors. We obtained a Federal Permit to Rehab and Release Birds of Prey. We also worked with the Louisville Zoo Administrator Dr. William Foster on this program. I later joined Kentucky Wildlife Line and was covered by a blanket permit, to rehab and release small mammals, for another 8 years. In 1996, I first took notice of a beautiful pair of Red-Shouldered hawks that had nested on our 2 acres, and that was a gift, that just keeps on giving.

One day I was on Google wondering if anyone else out there loved Red-Shouldered Hawks, like I do. I came across a single site...one done by Vickie Henderson. I had never heard of a blog, but she introduced me and encouraged me to begin my own. That was in June of 2009. My blog "Red-Shouldered Hawks of Tingsgrove and Beyond", is just one way to share the images from my world.

Normandy Life

Mosaic Monday

Saturday's Critters

Wild Bird Wednesday

Visitors

Having loved horses my entire life, I began creating these Equestrians in the late 1990's, prior to the now famed Gallopalooza horses which later came on the scene. Tingsgrove Equestrians are made using layers of upholstery fabrics that I blend together and then apply to molded forms. Many of these have been sold around the country and shipped as far as Europe~

Nature and photography go hand in hand in my life. My husband has done many nature watercolurs in the past, though, retired from painting these days. It seemed only natural to share one of my favorites on my nature blog~Two Hummingbirds~